Reviews

The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

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kjpollard71's review against another edition

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I just couldn't get into it. I may pick it up later....

missyjohnson's review against another edition

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2.0

This was a chore for me. I did enjoy the last 200 pages but the first 600 not so much. I don’t know anything about astrology so I have no idea of the significance of the moon being in capricorn or sagitarrius. This book did not even cause me to want to know more either. Maybe if I had then the references may have had more meaning. Missing that aspect may have caused me to lose out. I was also confused with the significance of the dates to a point. I understood the progress for the most part but it did seem as if there were parts that were “back story” that were inserted randomly. All in all I ended up just a bit confused but maybe that was the authors point. As each of us sees only a part of an event from our own perspective it can muddle the overall real story. Unfortunately, either I missed how all of the pieces fit together for this tale or was never meant to be able to tie it up in a neat little package in the end.

stecatherine's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jochristian's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

utterly baffling, no idea what was going on most of the time, and fizzled out in the end

mollyss's review against another edition

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4.0

Find this kind of difficult to rate! I love her writing style and it is so descriptive and very captivating especially given its 850 pages - but I do think that 50%-70% was tough to get through and made some of rhe plot feel a bit murky because it was so densely written. I actively tried to read it slowly to make sure everything got into my. brain but it didn’t feel like it had a moment where it all clicked together, and I was surprised it ended so quickly because I was still a bit confused by the plot.
Loved the use of period vocab tho!

ON REFLECTION I have been thinning about this book a lot since finishinf it which I feel like is the sign of a rly
Good book